Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-01-27
AN UNLucKY MAN.
Tn" Remarkable Personal Experience of
Famous Engineer.
TO BE CONTINUED


Although Brunei. the celebrated en-
ginecr, who bnilt the Great Eastern,
died Al the comparatively early age Of
So. 1t is oven mnuer Of srprise that lie
lived so long. He had more befloHs
escapes from violent death than fall 10
the loi of most men.
At the outset of his career. wi4en act
ing rs acknowledgement 10 his father,
in making the Thames Tunnel, he had
two narrow escapes from drowning by
the river suddenly bursting in upon the
works. Some time after. when iuspeet-
ing The shafts of the railway tunnel I'M
der Box tili, lie was one cay riding a
shaggy pony III Il rapid rats down the
hill. when the animal stumbled and fell.
pitching tic chginccf on his head with
great violence; he was taken up for
dead, but eventually recovered.
When the Great Western line WAS
finished and ut work he used frequent
ly 10 ride upon the engine with the
driver, and occasionally he drove it HIM
self. One day, when passing through
the Box Tunnel upon the engine Mt con-
siderable sp ed, Brunei thought he dis
cerned between him and the light some
object standing on tho same line Of
road along which has engine was tray
cling. He instantly turned on the full
steam and dashed at the object. which
was driven into Il thousand pieces
1t afterwards turned ont TO be Il con-
tractors truck. which had broken loose
from ballasl-lrain on It's way through
the tunnel Another narrow escape
I, 81, h., 10 Al.
Western steamship. where he fell down
a hatchway into the hold and was near
ly killed.
But the most extraordinary accident
which befell him WAS that which oc-
Cured while one day playing with his
children. Like his father. Sir isambard,
he was fond Of astonishing them with
sleight-of-hani tricks. in which he dis
played considerable dexterity, and the
feat which he proposed to them on this
occasion was passing OF n half-sovereign
through his mouth out Of his ear. I'm
fortunately he swallowed the coin.
which dropped into his windpipe.
The accident occurred April 3, 1913.
and it was followed by frequent fits of
coughing and occasional uncasness in
was the disturbance OF breathing that
it was for some time doubted whether
the coin had really fallen into the wind
pipe. After the lapse of fifteen DAYS Sir
b. Brodie met Mr. Key in consultation.
and they concurred in the opinion that
most probably tho half-sovureign was
lodged at the bottom of the right
bronchuS.
The day after, Mr.. Brunei placed him.
self in a prone position on his face upon
some chairs, and, bending his head aud
neck downwards, ne distinctly felt the
coin drop towards the CLOTHS. A violent
cough ensued, and on resumng the
erect posture lie felt as if the object
again moved downwards into the chest.
Here was ain engineering difficulty
the like of which Mr.. Brunei had never
before encountered. The mischief was
purely mechanical; foreign body had
gone into his breathing apparatus, and
must be removed. if it all, by some me-
chauical expedicnl. Mir Brunei was,
however, equal - the D casion. He had
an apparatus CONSTRUCTED consisting of
q platform which moved upon 4 hinge
in the centre. Upon this ho had him
self strapped. and his body was tnen in
veried, in order that the coin might
drop downward by It's own weight, and
be so expelled
At the first experiment Inc coin again
slipped towards The CLOTHS. bat it
caused such aD alarming lit of convul-
sive coughing and appearance of chok-
ing that danger was unprecedented. and
ha a tpf Tvs
days later, the 25;h. the operation OF
tracheotomy was performed by Sir Ben
jamin Brodie, assisted by Mr.. Key. with
the intention of extr cting the com by
forceps, if possible. Two attempts TO 10
so were nH,.ie wiiboIt success.
The iuira,!u ''i2a Of the f9rccps into
the windpipr ON he .ccord &C aston
was attend, 4 wi;'i - xc Ssiye = degree
of irritation thai 4 w.ss Isl the expert
ment could not ba continued without
danger Of life. Use nr ion IN the
windpipe WAS, however. sect u1Tn by
means of quili o. n,He Hmiii 2laY Il.
by which Time Nj. B.uuci : Ypu@th i;ad
sufficiently recovered "a enable tee ORR
ginal experiment to By ,eloaled
He was again strapped 10 his appara-
tus; his body was iiv rird: his back
was struck gently. and be distinctly
felt the coin quit liz place on the right
side of his chest Tic ooening in the
windpipe allowed him to breathe while
the throat was stopped By the coin, and
1t thus had the effect of preventing the
spasmodic action Of the glo,tis, After q
few coughs the coin dropped into his
mouth.
Mr.. Brunei used afterwards TO say
that the moment when me heard the
gold piece strike against his upper front
teeth was, perhaps, the most exquisite
in his whole life. The half-sovereign
had been in his windpipe for not less
than SIX wcekSi